An ellipse with two focuses : towards a new theological method from Gaudium et Spes

Abstract

During the development of Vatican II, the systematic form in which thought
and belief should shape each other was the object of important debates,
specifically due to the novelty represented by the introduction of the inductive
method in ecclesiastical teaching. It was realized that this innovation
included a challenging reflection about the Church’s self-understanding, and
therefore a crucial debate about the goals of the Council itself. Such method,
which later on was questioned, has been particularly relevant in the Latinamerican
post Council. Today, at stake are the chances that the Church,
faith and theology become less indifferent to the unease that emerges from
the complex biographic experiences and to the outcry that bursts out of the
world of suffering and from the poor.